Boston As philanthropy in the US returns to pre-GFC levels, a handful of Australian universities are trying to tap the staggering sums of money available through American foundations, wealthy individuals and even government agencies.

From a small outpost in Washington DC, the University of Queensland is building its bona fides among key grant-makers in the public and private spheres. It’s a painstaking process likely to involve years, if not decades, of applications and countless rejections.

But the payback could be significant, UQ in America executive director ­Khatmeh Osseiran-Hanna says.

“Foundations in the United States, especially within higher education, have given in the billions of dollars," she says. “But grant-makers have to get to know Australian universities. They don’t know them right now."

Three other institutions – the Australian National University, University of Melbourne and University of NSW – also have offices in the US.

Their activities include brokering research partnerships, student exchange programs and connecting with alumni. In November, the University of Melbourne is due to host a series of events to promote its $500 million fundraising campaign, Believe.

Key to the Australian universities’ prospective success as fund-raisers in the US is achieving what is known as 501(c)(3) status. This means an organisation is recognised by the Inland ­Revenue Service as a non-profit entity and, crucially, allows donors to seek a tax deduction on donations. In a crowded marketplace, it lends credibility, legitimacy and accountability.

UQ in America was awarded 501(c)(3) status in 2011 and less than a year later, Dow Chemical Co. chief executive and alumnus
Andrew Liveris
announced a $10 million contribution for a Brisbane-based centre for ­engineering innovation.

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Mr Liveris is also the inaugural chairman of The University of Queensland in America Foundation.

“The foundation has its own independent board and is physically and legally independent from the university," Osseiran-Hanna says. “But we work hand-in-hand in our mission to raise funds for the very good things the University of Queensland is doing."

This year came another milestone, when UQ won its first foundation grant as an entity in its own right. That is, without having to piggyback on another institution. The grant is small fry – $50,000 for a socio-economic study of mining activities in Mexico – but it’s a step forward. There is also a $300,000 grant from another foundation pending, as well as a $300,000 pledge from an individual, details of which will be revealed next month.

When it comes to philanthropy, the US is streets ahead of the rest of the world and the sums involved are ­enormous. America’s more than 80,000 foundations paid out an estimated $US50 billion to charitable causes in 2012, according to the Foundation Centre, which provides data and analysis on philanthropy worldwide.

Another survey by the Council for Aid to Education suggests giving to higher education reached a near-record $US31 billion last year, 30 per cent of which came from foundations.

Giving declined to a low of $US27.85 billion in 2009, a drop of 11.9 per cent from the previous year.

Donations started to recover in 2010-11, reaching $30.3 billion, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education says.

US government spending power is also formidable. The National Institutes of Health invests $US39.9 billion in medical research annually.

Australia is celebrating some large gifts by local donors, the latest being $65 million for West Australian universities from
Andrew Forrest
. Several Australian universities have also received hundreds of millions of dollars from Charles “Chuck" Feeney’s Atlantic Philanthropies and the high-profile Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The accepted wisdom among advancement professionals – advancement is the term used to describe the gambit of activities including fund-raising and alumni relations – is that the process should begin on the day of graduation; ideally, even earlier. Not only is it impossible to predict who might become wealthy, the sum total of the multitude of smaller annual donations by “ordinary" alumni outstrips income from big individual benefactors.

This month, 50 New York-based graduates of ANU gathered at the ­Princeton Club for the second annual fall alumni dinner. But there was no talk of dollars; this was alumni relations in its relative infancy.

Association of ANU North America Alumni president Adam Ford says the evening is about connecting and re-connecting with fellow graduates.

The event’s special guest was JuE Wong, the chief executive of StriVectin, which makes anti-ageing skin care products. Born and raised in Singapore, she graduated from ANU with a bachelor of arts in 1987 and has forged an international business career.

But, as she tells the audience, she will always be grateful for her time at ANU.